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***** Price Gouging on Norwegian Cruise Line*****


helosardig

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So a new 2007 Car should sell for more than a 2009 of the same model today?

 

I was agreeing with you Helo... Just making the point that it is unlikely in the current economy that watches are appreciating in value prior to even being sold... Which is what I think another poster was rightly postulating could and does happen sometimes with things. I just don't think it seems likely with Fossil watches on a cruise ship that are over MSRP...

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Actually I changed email addresses and opened a new account with cruisecritic.com. So I have been on the board from the beginning. Is it wrong to give people and heads up when you see something misleading?

 

and please people, keep the fact of me being a disabled Veteran out of this forum. and YES, I will remove it from my profile.

 

I think most of us are proud of you for being a veteran and thankful to you for that. And, I think most of the veteran comments arose because of the second or third posting where someone made it seem like you should have some how known better because you are a veteran or something like that. Their posting was the one most of us were talking about when we mentioned anything veteran related. Please don't feel you need to keep that out of your profile.

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Are you saying that you rewarded the Manager's help in making things right with you by posting here that they are price gouging? Wow, usually when someone fixes the problem and goes above and beyond (20% off the MSRP), then people don't publicly trash them for it.

 

The post was to alert people. I contacted NCL repeatedly for a response. I'm certain they felt it would be sweep under the rug and die.

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I was agreeing with you Helo... Just making the point that it is unlikely in the current economy that watches are appreciating in value prior to even being sold... Which is what I think another poster was rightly postulating could and does happen sometimes with things. I just don't think it seems likely with Fossil watches on a cruise ship that are over MSRP...

 

I'm sorry about that. Your right.

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I'm sorry about that. Your right.

 

One last thing for everyone to look at about price gouging.

 

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun1.price gouging - pricing above the market price when no alternative retailer is available pricing - the evaluation of something in terms of its price

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Are you saying that you rewarded the Manager's help in making things right with you by posting here that they are price gouging? Wow, usually when someone fixes the problem and goes above and beyond (20% off the MSRP), then people don't publicly trash them for it.

 

Trash them? Or warn others to be careful...? He did say in the OP that they made it right. But only after unsuccessfully dealing with the assistant manager on what even the manager said was a bait and switch. So they tried to rip him off, he caught it, then had to work up two levels to get it fixed, while he was on vacation dealing with a shop on the boat. So he shouldn't mention it cause it was fixed?

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Trash them? Or warn others to be careful...? He did say in the OP that they made it right. But only after unsuccessfully dealing with the assistant manager on what even the manager said was a bait and switch. So they tried to rip him off, he caught it, then had to work up two levels to get it fixed, while he was on vacation dealing with a shop on the boat. So he shouldn't mention it cause it was fixed?

 

Not with seventeen asterisks and calling it gouging, no. That's how someone typically responds when a company does not make good on a problem.

 

He could still come here and say what he wanted to say without making it look like they bilked him out of his last dollar.

 

What on earth would he have said if the Manager said, I'm sorry sir, its the suggested price, but we feel we can sell it for $22 more?

 

Sorry, with the real crap going on in this world, the high drama for something that they FIXED and acknowledged was mishandled is a bit much.

 

Of course it's just my opinion.

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One last thing for everyone to look at about price gouging.

 

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun1.price gouging - pricing above the market price when no alternative retailer is available pricing - the evaluation of something in terms of its price

 

I'm sorry that your cruise had no other ports and that you couldn't find any of the $10.00 watches that would have suited your needs. Come on, a Fossil watch is not a necessity. You could argue, as some have, that a time piece of some sort is, but there were plenty of $10.00 ones that were more than likely selling for way under the MSRP.

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One last thing for everyone to look at about price gouging.

 

ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms

Noun1.price gouging - pricing above the market price when no alternative retailer is available pricing - the evaluation of something in terms of its price

The problem with this definition is that it totally ignores context, which is critical when an allegation of price-gouging is concerned. Price-gouging only occurs when essential products are concerned (e.g., milk, bread, gas, etc.) and only during or immediately before/after a state of emergency that precipitates the scarcity of a product (or anticipated scarcity). It does NOT apply to watches. No one can reasonably argue that the purchase of a watch on a cruise ship is essential. No one's welfare was relying on the acquisition of a watch within a given timeframe (i.e., an emergency).

 

If you want to say that the watch was over-priced, no one will argue with you. If you want to say that the ship's store was trying to take advantage of you, again, no one will argue with you. But, by the same token, you weren't forced to buy the watch in order to protect yourself or your family. That's why it was NOT price-gouging.

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Actually the Manager told me that the AM was WRONG. Dropped the price to MSRP and gave me the 20% off that was being offered for the sale. I put this post out there so PEOPLE ARE AWARE that the flyers they stuff in your stateroom mailbox about wholesale prices aren't what they may appear. Please DON"T read any further into that. PEOPLE BE AWARE.

 

I think the OP has a very legitimate point and I for one now realize this sneakiness is not an just on NCL but can be found on any cruise line as well as any land based store. Thanks for the heads up.

 

I was recently on a cruise on a different cruise line and saw a pair of earrings that were being sold for $81.00US which I thought was on the high side. Later in the cruise that same store had a sale at 15% off and the earrings were on display. When I asked the price I was told it was on the back and it said $81.00 US I asked about the 15% off and was told that the $81 already included the 15% discount. Usually I would have believed that to be true however I already knew the price and found it quite laughable that the employee looked me straight in the eye and lied. Of course I never bought the earrings however, it was more on principle than anything else. Basically left the employee standing there while I walked away saying out loud "Are you kidding me??" Had a good laugh at it really.

 

A few days later they had their gold by the inch sale. My DH and I were looking at getting a couple of bracelets and a necklace. As we were talking the to rep she was immediately cutting the ....dare I say gold (as I know its not) and after she made the pieces we were looking for and while making up the bill, only then did she inform us that the clasps were an additional $4 each. No big deal but I really felt we should have been informed of that before we agreed to purchase. We made our purchase and are enjoying what we bought (hopefully they won't turn green immediately:D).

 

However my point is that at first I thought it was just the way this particular ship conducted business and was a little disappointed in that but now I am aware that it is something to be careful with on land and at sea. Sometimes we go on vacation and tend to drop our guard a little and it can be a little disappointing in the end.

 

These experiences in no way impacted our cruise and we still laugh about the incredible wholesale deals offered at 15% off:rolleyes::rolleyes:

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I'm sorry that your cruise had no other ports and that you couldn't find any of the $10.00 watches that would have suited your needs. Come on, a Fossil watch is not a necessity. You could argue, as some have, that a time piece of some sort is, but there were plenty of $10.00 ones that were more than likely selling for way under the MSRP.

What does that have to do with charging over MSRP?

BTW I'm off now to put all my old fossil watches on EBAY.

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The post was to alert people. I contacted NCL repeatedly for a response. I'm certain they felt it would be sweep under the rug and die.

 

Why would they respond? The don't own or operate onboard stores or concessions. They are all subcontracted. If you want to complain further to someone, contact the management company that owns the store. Here's a link to those stores from NCL's website:

 

http://164.109.173.140/ship_employ/vend_op.htm

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Why would they respond? The don't own or operate onboard stores or concessions. They are all subcontracted. If you want to complain further to someone' date=' contact the management company that owns the store. Here's a link to those stores from NCL's website:

 

http://164.109.173.140/ship_employ/vend_op.htm[/quote']

 

 

Ok I understand the whole thing about NCL rents the space to the retailers, but IMO if these retailers are providing a bad service it directly reflects off on NCL, wether it is the retail stores, casinos etc. these services are being provided onboard their ship and if Joe blow doesnt know or even if Joe blow knows these are not NCL stores etc it doesnt look good for NCL, I think they would be better off providing their own services in these areas b/c some off these peeps are really giving NCL a bad rep and this is excatly why NCL should respond.

I thought I had read that Harrahs was somehow related to the CAS, I would like to get a definite answer to this.

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At 7 cruises about to go on #8, I still feel like a novice, but aren't the shops operated by an outside vendor? That being the case, I would think the pricing and policies would be set by that company, though the buck certainly stops at NCL. In any case, "Buyer Beware", and if you bought it you must have felt you got a good deal at the time, and were just looking for a better deal. As for their reasoning behind the old tags, who's to say that was not the case.

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I guess I wouldn't have such an issue with it if they didn't send you the flyers everyday in the mail stating their price are below wholesale. Also the Asst Manager was a bit shaken when I informed him of the mistake. Such much so that he ran down to the main room where the sale was to make sure all the MSRP tags were gone. How many of you expect to get a good deal on jewery onboard cruises? That is suppose to be part of the thrill, right ???????

 

 

You are kidding right? obviously you don't do much shopping, ever hear the term Let the Buyer beware? where did you get the impression that buying on a cruise ship is suppose to be such a good deal, oh yeah I know all the hype. That would be along the lines of a furniture going out of business sale right?

If you are not a informed consumer about WHAT you are buying and the correct value of the same, know what it would normally sell for, then you are fair game for any sales pitch that a store can think of.

 

 

Had you before this cruise looked up Fossil watches online perhaps and checked them in stores to know what the going rate was?

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and how can it be duty free on the beach? Alaska charges sales tax too....

 

Sales tax in Alaska is quite low. Duties on goods coming into the US can be very high--higher even than NYC sales tax.

 

Plus, if you have the item shipped to your home, you'll pay shipping but not sales tax.

 

Beach=Land

Ship=Sea

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1) I have never heard of a Fossil watch appreciating in value to warrant a $22 increase in price. Especially if it is older stock because that means it is past season merchandise. Fossil is not some amazing brand like Rolex. It is like The Gap of watches..and I've never had a 2 season old cardigan from The Gap that appreciated in value.

 

2) While I do think everyone should use extreme "sale skepticism", especially on vacation, I don't think you can necessarily say shame on the OP for not researching fossil watch prices prior to vacation or for not using better judgement when buying the watch. Yes, he may have bought the watch for $109 and therefore found the price within his limit, but I think I would have been pretty ticked off if I found the watch's MSRP was considerably lower than what I paid. I would feel duped and taken advantage of, which is exactly what the shop did. They are marking up prices in those shops and telling people they are on sale. In a normal consumer situation, if a person found out they overpaid for an item they would simply return it but you cannot do that on a cruise ship. I think the OP was completely founded in posting this to warn other unsuspecting people, ESPECIALLY those new to cruising, of the rip offs that are in the ship shops. And especially when so many people talk about all the amazing, duty-free shopping you can do at sea.

 

At the same time, the shop can definitely charge a price higher than the MSRP. Car dealerships do it all of the time. When I bought my first car I didn't do any prior research and they sold me the car for $6000 over bluebook value (of course I looked up that information after the fact and took the car back the very next day). Also, the bookstore at the college I work for marks up textbook prices because students pretty much have no other choice but to purchase books here. So it's "legal", but I still don't think that makes it right.

 

So it really is a situation of buyers being aware of what they are purchasing. And I thank the person who posted this for bringing this topic to light for those who are unsuspecting consumers. You live and learn:)

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Ok I understand the whole thing about NCL rents the space to the retailers, but IMO if these retailers are providing a bad service it directly reflects off on NCL, wether it is the retail stores, casinos etc. these services are being provided onboard their ship and if Joe blow doesnt know or even if Joe blow knows these are not NCL stores etc it doesnt look good for NCL, I think they would be better off providing their own services in these areas b/c some off these peeps are really giving NCL a bad rep and this is excatly why NCL should respond.

I thought I had read that Harrahs was somehow related to the CAS, I would like to get a definite answer to this.

 

NCL and Harrah's are owned, at least in part, by the same parent company. CAS and Harrahs share customer information and customer perks, offers, etc, but NCL's casinos are owned and operated by NCL.

 

As far as the stores, photo people, etc... all of the "it's a reflection of NCL" stuff doesn't matter. You either pay what they are charging or asking for or you don't. Their pricing is what this thread is about. MSRP is just that, suggested. They can charge whatever they want to charge.

 

The OP said one reason he was upset is that it was advertised as "wholesale". Well.. he posted the definition of gouging, here is the one for wholesale: whole⋅sale   /ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hohl-seyl] Show IPA Pronunciation

noun, adjective, adverb, verb, -saled, -sal⋅ing.

–noun 1. the sale of goods in quantity, as to retailers or jobbers, for resale (opposed to retail ).

–adjective 2. of, pertaining to, or engaged in sale by wholesale.

3. extensive; broadly indiscriminate: wholesale discharge of workers.

–adverb 4. in a wholesale way; on wholesale terms: I can get it for you wholesale.

5. in large quantities; on a large scale, esp. without discrimination: Wild horses were slaughtered wholesale.

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object) 6. to sell by wholesale.

 

 

Note nowhere does it say that wholesale is below MSRP.

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NCL and Harrah's are owned, at least in part, by the same parent company. CAS and Harrahs share customer information and customer perks, offers, etc, but NCL's casinos are owned and operated by NCL.

 

As far as the stores, photo people, etc... all of the "it's a reflection of NCL" stuff doesn't matter. You either pay what they are charging or asking for or you don't. Their pricing is what this thread is about. MSRP is just that, suggested. They can charge whatever they want to charge.

 

The OP said one reason he was upset is that it was advertised as "wholesale". Well.. he posted the definition of gouging, here is the one for wholesale: whole⋅sale   /ˈhoʊlˌseɪl/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [hohl-seyl] Show IPA Pronunciation

noun, adjective, adverb, verb, -saled, -sal⋅ing.

–noun 1. the sale of goods in quantity, as to retailers or jobbers, for resale (opposed to retail ).

–adjective 2. of, pertaining to, or engaged in sale by wholesale.

3. extensive; broadly indiscriminate: wholesale discharge of workers.

–adverb 4. in a wholesale way; on wholesale terms: I can get it for you wholesale.

5. in large quantities; on a large scale, esp. without discrimination: Wild horses were slaughtered wholesale.

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object) 6. to sell by wholesale.

 

 

Note nowhere does it say that wholesale is below MSRP.

 

Terry your right I went off topic, I appologize my post was about cas and I guess it didnt belong here, as for the onboard stores, I only bought cigs, idk or care how the price there goods if you buy it without any research and get taken its your own fault. I do know there are certain stores that the ship will back you on for shopping and I really do not think they would tolerate stores on there own ship trying to screw ppl

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Terry your right I went off topic, I appologize my post was about cas and I guess it didnt belong here, as for the onboard stores, I only bought cigs, idk or care how the price there goods if you buy it without any research and get taken its your own fault.

 

LOL.. sorry..only the first paragraph was ment to you, just to answer your question. The rest was just for the thread in general. I was just saying who owns it or doesn't isn't the issue to the OP, the price he paid is.

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Why would they respond? The don't own or operate onboard stores or concessions. They are all subcontracted. If you want to complain further to someone' date=' contact the management company that owns the store. Here's a link to those stores from NCL's website:

 

http://164.109.173.140/ship_employ/vend_op.htm[/quote']

 

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE!

 

NCL called me and saw my post on cruisecritic and have decided to start an investigation. Thats all I really wanted. I understand life is not fair and there are alot of scummy people out there who have no problem taking money away from innocent people. Remember people, BE PART OF THE SOLUTION. Now we can end this forum. Thanks to all who supported me and for all who didn't, Karma will catch up to you!

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